


Camera Lens - An Amino Region Journey

by Gem_Alawas



Series: Pokemon Short Fics [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Character Development, Gen, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Hatred, Short journey fic, Waking up in strange places, coming to terms with oneself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 13:10:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19085719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gem_Alawas/pseuds/Gem_Alawas
Summary: This was written for a major challenge on Pokémon Amino and posted three minutes after the deadline, so I'm posting it here. It's roughly seven thousand words so I broke it into parts for easy reading. As it was written in under 48 hours, it may seem somewhat rough around the edges.





	1. Arrival

Passing out, as I had before discovered, is a strange experience. It could be compared to removing a slide from a smoothly written PowerPoint-a piece of time just oddly missing when it should have been linear, and the odd disorientation as you try to figure out where you even are. One second I was lying abed and playing with my phone, in no hurry to rise; the next I was blinking awake, head swimming. For a few seconds, before information from my senses really began to register, I thought I had just dozed off in bed again. Then it occurred to me that where I was lying was oddly hard, like ground with the familiar tickle of grass instead of mattress. The rub of day-clothing rather than pajamas also made itself known, as did the beat of the warm sun and the weight of a bag on my back.

I went from asleep to upright before my brain was fully online, looking frantically back and forth in confusion. The first thing that I noticed was buildings - tall ones, short ones, differently colored like they’d be in any major city. The spaces between them seemed to lead to maze-like alleyways, where anything could be lurking. The sky was clear and beautiful, the weather oddly neither warm nor cool, a soft breeze flowing through the streets. Next, I heard sound and saw people-a few others, one just appearing on the ground even as I took in the sight. Despite the towering city, only those few people could be found in my view. I was quite a bit confused, even disoriented, not knowing where I was nor how I’d ended up there. The city was nice, sure, but it wasn’t my home. I’d never even seen it before. The architecture didn’t ring any bells, either, and the neutral climate was absolutely no help. For a long moment, I stood utterly paralyzed.

I didn’t know what to do, where to go, or what was going on and it terrified me. A quiet yipping noise yanked me from my silent panic, and I stumbled backwards, looking down to see a small, vulpine creature standing in front of me. It was tiny, only a little higher than my knee, with light yellowish fur, big red eyes, and even bigger ears. Tiny legs carried it on a bouncy path as it ran about right in front of me, yipping gleefully. I stared blankly. It looked familiar - my still-shaken mind wanted to classify it as a Pokémon. A Fennekin, to be specific. I promptly decided that this might, in fact, be one of my many strange dreams, though to be so lucid during one was unusual. I squatted down to get closer to the little thing’s level, so I wouldn’t intimidate it. Turns out that wasn’t very necessary-as soon as I was low enough, the fox leapt at me, scrambling up on my bent leg and licking at my face.

I couldn’t help but smile as I stroked the tiny little creature, noting that it gave off quite a lot of warmth for such a small creature, particularly from its ears. Petting the squirming fox proved remarkably relaxing, at least until it began using me as a jungle gym. The miniature vulpine scrabbled its way up to my shoulder, almost diving into the bag that I’d nearly forgotten was on my back. Ugh. Backpacks. I promptly shrugged it off of one shoulder as the fox tried to nose it open, and then pulled it in front of me, incidentally knocking the creature back into my lap. I unzipped the sturdy, camo-patterned bag and paused, blinking, even as the fox got directly in my view. For such a light bag, the thing was absolutely crammed-hell, if I didn’t know better, I’d have said that it was bigger on the inside than the out. After the initial blank shock, I began to rifle through the bag, taking inventory, but only after remembering to give my own outfit a glance.

I was simply dressed as though for a run, in black shorts that just about reached my knees, a pale blue, sweat-wicking shirt-as it happened, my favorite one-a pair of running socks, and my favorite running/hiking shoes. Packed in the bag were several of my own more light-colored shirts and more practical pairs of pants. A rainbow-colored rain jacket and a thin blue one were also present. From there, the supplies only got more interesting. A small package advertising itself with the label of “One-Button Tent!” and with the brand name “Devon Corp” stood out immediately, as did the one next to it with the label “Instant Roll and Unroll Sleeping Bag!” Confused, I moved on. Several large containers of water were present, but no purifier or anything of the sort. Instead, my hands landed on a very small package that had the label of “Rebreather- Swim Without Air for an Hour”.

Beyond that were rations, what should have been quite heavy, easily two dozen meals-some fresh, some dried, familiar meal bars from my home, and well above a dozen each of “Trainer Bars”, “Trainer Meals” and “Compressed Water (Fills a ½ Gallon Canteen)”. There was a lot of it, enough to survive on for quite some time. Beyond that, the supplies only continued to mystify me. A small knife with a black grip was the first thing I noticed, and after that a pair of phones. My own current phone, the one I used for everything, was one of them. The other was the one that had long since been deactivated, that I used pretty much as an iPod for exercising rather than getting rid of it. After that were two pairs of headphones and a pair of earbuds.

One was my Beats, the other was my hearing protection. The earbuds were also familiar, a pair I liked to use when exercising. Even my laptop, my Kindle, a ball of the appropriate chargers, and a little box with the label “Rechargeable Battery Pack (Any Electric Type Can be a Safe Battery)” turned out to be present, much to my shock. The first thing I did was check my phone. I found that I had Internet and Email, but no phone service. I decided that I’d figure out what to do with that information later. Rifling through the bag next brought me a black belt with strange holders on it, a small red device and small red-and-white balls, about twelve of the latter. It took me a moment to realize that they were, at least in looks, a Pokédex and Pokéballs. This lent quite some strength to my initial reaction to the little fox, even more so when it frantically tried to get at the tiny spheres. I pulled one out, and the fox-Fennekin? I didn’t know-scrambled over my arm to nose at it.

One nose-poke of the button and the ball enlarged from less than two inches in diameter to taking up my entire palm. A second poke opened it, and the little…little Pokémon vanished in a flash of red light. A sharp click-ding noise came from the closed ball, and a loud buzz sounded from the device in my bag. A screen came up, displaying the information of the Pokémon Fennekin, IDing this one as male-and a nicknaming screen. I hesitated, never one for quick deci-oh who was I kidding. I rapidly typed in three letters, spelling the name “Gem”. The oldest Pokémon I ever had, the first starter I’d seriously picked, the Pokémon I’d first started my first journey with had been a male Fennekin who I’d named Gem. Not to name this little one the same would just feel fundamentally wrong. I let the Pokémon back out of the ball. Dream or not, I was going to live, to handle this, and to handle it right. The Pokémon yipped at me, this time with a distinct sound.

_“Fen! Fenne!”_

I then whipped my phone back out and first shot off an email to my dad. It was simple, a message that I was alive, alright, and well-supplied. Next, I opened Pokémon Amino. Surprisingly, there was a ridiculous inundation of posts about almost this exact situation-it seemed every active member and quite a few who weren’t had abruptly found themselves in this…place, alongside Pokémon. Each, with a single Pokémon that acted as a starter, happily and voluntarily joining them. People, as it turned out, were remarkably good at gathering information when pressed. A map of the region had already surfaced, showing the different biomes of this region, where different types of Pokémon could be found, and their locations and starters. I, half-absentmindedly, turned location on my phone back on, and made a simple post noting that I’d landed in the area already dubbed the Metropolis, and had acquired a Fennekin.

Smiling again despite the situation, I put my phone away, zipped the bag shut, slung it over my shoulders, and rose to my feet again. I decided that the best move was talking to people, anyone who looked like they knew what was going on, and the second best was just to get on the move. Both was my choice for the day. I paused to tighten up my shoes, and then set off at a quick walk towards the horizon, on which was a mountain-the center of the Volcano biome. I wanted to check out that area, and then head for the center of the region and meet a few people once I’d gotten a feel for the area from a bit higher up.


	2. A Mission

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Walking long distances was something I could easily zone out and be happy doing, and Gem was clearly just as happy to walk along with me. The few Pokémon we saw were widely varied and gave us plenty of a berth, only stopping us by the fact that I chose to stop and photograph a few with the newer of my two phones. I'd always had a thing for photography, even though I had no interest in a serious camera, and taking pictures of the wild creatures proved a fun distraction, especially when Gem “helped” by darting into and out of the pictures or yipping at the Pokémon we encountered. Nightfall arrived, and I hadn’t reached the edge of the volcano yet, but I had hit what I could safely classify as suburbs. Affluent homes and massive trees lined the streets, well-kept despite the fact that the only people about were the ones transported here.

I stopped at a home that somehow reminded me of the one I’d been taken from. A few sharp knocks and a peer in the window confirmed that no-one else was there, and trying the door revealed that it was unlocked. I went in, and a few minutes of poking around uncovered that the house had electricity and was remarkably well-stocked with supplies for both Pokémon and humans. I unpacked some perishables from my bag and added a first aid kit and some Pokémon food. Feeding myself and Gem wasn’t much of a challenge, and once that was done, I pulled out my phone. I took a couple minutes to take a few pictures of my new little Pokémon and found that my dad had sent me a reply, detailing how I was indeed missing from my home-and how almost a million people had just been gone when the morning hit, staggered across time zones.

No-one knew what was happening, nor what was common among them save their destination. The only communication methods were Internet-based, as no phone lines worked between the two worlds. I sent him a few pictures of my new companion, and described to him my day, forwarding the message to my other family members as well. I posted again on Amino, a simple mention that I was alright and of where I was currently headed before I decided to crash for the night. Further trying to understand this new world could wait until morning. I slept in the surprisingly made-up bedroom, Gem curled into a ball by my feet.

The morning dawned brightly, shining through the drawn drapes. When I awoke, I found myself disoriented, not least by the almost-uncomfortably warm weight draped across my back. It took until I sat up, managing to get the Pokémon to move, that the events of the previous day caught up with me. I sighed loudly almost without realizing it as I rose, Gem falling off the bed in his haste to get moving. I checked my bag once more, this time remembering to add Pokémon healing supplies, replace what I’d eaten and drank, and add a couple of food and water bowls from the well-stocked storage closet. As it turned out, almost every piece of Pokémon tech somehow compressed itself into a tiny, near-weightless box, and that coupled with my seemingly physics-ignoring bag meant that I could carry everything I needed to live around on my back fairly effortlessly.

I opened up Amino again, and on the top of the Featured Feed was a PSA for those stranded in this new world. As I arranged and headed out, I opened it and began to read. It once again went over the various areas of what was tentatively dubbed the “Amino Region”, this time including a rough map. Overall, the region was circular, divided into different pieces like pie slices, all of which met in the middle. The Metropolis, where I was, bordered the Volcano and Beach segments. I was headed straight for the volcano-a ground for strong Fire types if there ever was one. I decided to stick with my earlier plan: check out the volcano, head for center, and then decide from there. I really didn’t want to agonize long over what I was doing, so I resolved to just press on.

More interesting was the second part of the blog. The Curators and Leaders had decided on two things-one was government. In an interim period, they had chosen to set up a makeshift League, with a massive tournament to determine positions to be held in three months’ time. That certainly sounded cool, but all in all I found that I couldn’t muster up much interest. Traveling this region, meeting new Pokémon, all the fun that came with that-it beat training for battle any day in my mind. Besides, I was not a person who’d do well in charge of anything, I knew it wouldn’t be good for anyone if I tried to take any important role. Then, I came to the final piece. A plan to get home-and to bring Pokémon with us. If we could prove that Legendary Pokémon existed in this world, if we could contact them, if we could get the help of, say, Palkia, then we could bring together the two worlds. It was a big if, for certain, but to set it in motion only required proof. Such as a photograph.

I looked at my phone, and at my Pokémon, and for once in my life I made a decision. I would travel this region, photographing Pokémon, until I found a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon. Any of them would do. I would take a picture of it, maybe get some other form of proof if I could and show it to the leadership that had formed. I leaned down to pet my excited little Pokémon, and absentmindedly rambled as I straightened again and began walking in the same direction I’d spent yesterday going. I was pretty sure I’d fail, but as always, I was going to try.

_“We’re going to see this region, as much as we can. We’re going to take pictures, loads of pictures, and we’re going to find a Legendary Pokémon and take a picture of it, and one way or another it’ll help me get home and you can meet my family and probably bite my brother and fight with my cats and my mom will love you and I’ll do good, I’ll take care of you-“_

I broke off as Gem interrupted me with a loud yip, darting around me to look back behind us. I turned and saw a small, black equine Pokémon with irregular white stripes and a mane shaped like a lightning bolt. It took me a moment to place it as a Blitzle. Electricity coursed across its small form, and it pawed the ground like it was going to charge. Yipping, Gem charged forth, ready for battle. For a few seconds I froze-I knew enough to know that commanding a real Pokémon was going to be worlds apart from commanding one in a game, and I didn’t even know what level Gem was or if that even applied, nor what attacks it knew. I yanked my bag off my back and snatched my Pokédex out of it, pointing it at Gem. Surprisingly, the little thing booted up, displaying an image of a Fennekin alongside some basic information presumably specific to Gem and-there! A list of attacks.

With at least some idea of what to do, I pointed sharply at the Blitzle.  
 _“Ember!”_  
Gem yipped and charged forwards as the Blitzle did the same, the latter accelerating to a truly unnatural speed. The little horse slammed into Gem, throwing him backwards. To my Pokémon’s credit, he recovered and shot a ball of flame at the Blitzle before I could give him another command. Hilariously, our foe’s next move was to turn its back and wag its tiny tail at Gem.

I grinned, and then loudly whispered,  
 _“Use Scratch while it’s distracted!”_  
Gem leapt forwards, leaping on the somewhat larger Blitzle’s back and scratching at it, clinging with three sets of glowing claws at any one time while using the remaining one to savagely scratch at the equine, also using Ember to further complicate matters when it bucked frantically, neighing and shaking itself. Its white mane glowed, but it couldn’t seem to charge up enough electricity to actually do any damage. A moment of intense scuffling followed before Gem was finally thrown to the floor, but he jumped back up quickly and the Blitzle looked rather exhausted. It knelt slightly, bowing its head towards Gem, who puffed out his chest with a proud yip. I could only guess that the Electric-type had conceded.

_“Good work Gem,”_ I whispered.  
I was unsure how to proceed-should I press on and ignore the little Pokémon? Try to catch it, would it want to come with us? Could I even take care of one Pokémon, let alone two, given how often I’d failed at caring for others, like I fail-no. That was a thought for another time. A long, long moment passed as I wrested with my indecision, intrusive thoughts only getting worse the longer I stood.

I decided to cut a bargain between capturing the Pokémon and leaving it hurt. I pulled a pair of the many Potions I’d stocked-couldn’t afford to let Gem get hurt-and sprayed one over Gem, healing him fully. The Blitzle, surprisingly, allowed me to approach and do the same to it. I smiled as I rose, turned my back, and began to walk on. Blitzle didn’t need a Trainer who would cry at the slightest provocation, who couldn’t make a decision to save her life, who knew how to do things but just didn’t, who tried so hard to make everyone happy that in the end she made no-one happy, least of all herself. My flaws were big ones, they could hurt people-they could hurt any Pokémon I caught. I wouldn’t catch this little one.

Gem yipped incessantly at my heels, repeatedly pausing, but I didn’t look back nor stop. I heard the clatter of hooves on pavement and an unhappy whinny behind me-Blitzle didn’t understand my decision, so of course it didn’t approve. Apparently, neither did Gem. If Gem wanted to stay behind, then so be it, I’d get along on my own, maybe it would be better for the fox anyhow-but I wasn’t going to give in. At least, that’s what I told myself. Blitzle trotted up to me, nudging at the backs of my legs as I walked, and that almost made me stop. Another minute passed, then two, but neither gave in, Gem openly nipping at my socks, trying to pull me back. At last I slowed, and then I halted.

_“You…really want to come w-with me, huh?”_  
Somewhere in my focus on walking away, I’d begun to cry without even noticing. It was rapidly sinking in on me that I, for the first time in my short life, didn’t have someone else to depend on-I didn’t count my Pokémon, he depended on me as much as the other way around. I wasn’t ready, even though people around me had often said that I should be. I turned, at last, and knelt.

The Blitzle promptly skipped up to me and nosed at my hand where it rested on my leg. Gem yipped and tried to climb me again, licking at the tear tracks on my face. Ignoring the affectionate fox for the moment, I focused on Blitzle.  
 _“You sure?”_  
The little Pokémon visibly brightened and nodded.  
 _“I’m not v-very good at all this yet,”_ I warned, trying and failing to keep the shakiness out of my voice.  
That didn’t deter Blitzle, who nickered and nudged at my hand again.

I’d never been good at holding myself to promises, especially those made to myself. A truly disappointing amount of the time, that was actually a good thing-and now was one of those times. I sighed, pulling a Pokéball from my bag, knowing that if worst came to worst, I could release the little one. Almost before I held out the ‘ball, Blitzle headbutted it and disappeared inside. I smiled a little. As odd and even wrong as it felt under the circumstances, having the little thing trust me so easily was…nice.

I pulled my Pokédex out with one hand as it beeped, displaying the nicknaming screen, even as I re-released Blitzle. It-he whinnied, and I came up with an idea.  
 _“For your nickname…how about Zeke?”_  
The little Pokémon nodded, stomping a hoof, and I keyed in the name with a small smile. This time, when I rose and moved on, I was trailed by two little Pokémon instead of one.


	3. Journey

That day was a day of quick walking, a few more battles with the various Pokémon of the area, and a lot of playing between Gem and Zeke-the two had quickly become friends, despite how they’d met...or maybe because of it. I met some others along the way, but the few conversations I dared have showed that startlingly few were interested in the volcano, while I’d always wanted to see one for real. An experience like that was worth a little risk. We reached the foot of the mountain-which was more active than it had looked from afar-with plenty of time to spare before sundown, leaving us to begin the ascent. I thanked my lucky stars for my dad-without all that he’d taught me and all the hiking trips we’d taken, there was no way I’d be keeping up with my companions.

When night fell, stars carpeted the sky more brightly than I’d ever seen, the Milky Way stretching from horizon to horizon in the moonless night, the stars and general glow from the active volcano bright enough to cast shadows on the multicolored rock. Once in the comfort of tent and sleeping bag, I found that browsing through the pictures I’d taken was also quite rewarding, as I’d managed to capture some of the most beautiful landscapes-and, of course, many pictures of my silly Pokémon. On our third day on the volcano, fighting off a group of pesky Salandit, a brilliant light enveloped Gem. Seconds later, a much larger vulpine-humanoid lanced through the little lizards with an almighty bark. Gem had evolved into a Braixen. His new form, as it turned out, was much better proportioned than his old, meaning that despite being upright, he danced up cliffs with a sense of balance no human could match.

Zeke was every bit his equal, and I found myself being frequently waited for by my mischievous duo. Battles with the fierce wild Pokémon were almost too frequent for comfort, but the adrenaline of battling on the high cliffs, burning lava within eyeshot, never quite got old. Hour by hour, as we worked together, I found that I wasn’t the weak link I’d expected to be. We all depended on one another; covering for one another’s gaps in instincts, eyes, and ears. The next day, we met a rather stubborn Sandshrew. It took some cooperation on our end to actually bring it down, as it held type advantage over both of my Pokémon. At last, it defeated Zeke and evolved into a Sandslash in a flare of bright light. Gem promptly charged it, tossing it into a rock with a powerful Psybeam shortly followed by a Fire Spin. Sandslash, after one more fruitless claw-swipe, bowed its head in defeat, clearly on the point of collapse.

After healing the three combatants, we headed on-only to, as we began our descent hours later, find the tough Ground-type trailing us. Laughing, I offered the shrew a place on our team with an outstretched Pokéball, which it-then revealed to be a she-gladly accepted. After a moment of thought, I chose to call her Topaz. I worried that Topaz would struggle to keep pace, but if anything, she struggled less with the mountainous terrain than we did. The descent took another three full days, on the first of which we passed what looked to be a large temple-I stopped for a photograph-and when we were close to the base, Zeke surprised us all by evolving into a Zebstrika after a particularly annoying fight against a Monferno. This, of course, opened up a completely new method of travel, provided we could make it work. The four of us headed into the center of the region, as I decided to stop for supplies and a saddle for Zeke. I was concerned that I’d find no such thing, but as it turned out, I needn’t have worried.

People, as always, were resourceful. I exchanged a spare phone charger for a saddle someone had found, and a few Pokéballs for a supply of food and water. A building that had once been a hotel had been converted into a stopover for people like me, and I took full advantage, taking a much-needed shower and a meal for myself and my Pokémon. Before I headed out, however, there was one more thing I needed to deal with-my rapidly lengthening hair. I’d bought a hat with some of the meager money I’d found in my bag, but it was not only long and uncomfortable but beginning to impede my vision. Sitting against a building, I pulled the small knife from my bag, lifted it to my hair, and began to chop off some of the longer pieces.

It was difficult, painful work; and as I slowly continued, my Pokémon grew distinctly distressed. At last, Gem decided he’d had enough and tried to help. With his flaming stick. Naturally, this set my hair on fire. Surprisingly, the ashy, chopped look wasn’t half bad, and the flames got the job well enough done. With a shrug, I accepted my fate and hairdo. After that, I saddled up Zeke and without much further ado we got moving. We had decided-via much pointing at a map-to head for the border of the desert. Spend the remainder of that day and the full next one running in the grassy area that separated the temple from the desert, swing through the temple to see if there was anything interesting around, maybe try to pick up a Pokémon or two, and then head into the deepest part of forest.

Some people had seen strange weather around there, such as lightning strikes during clear skies. I didn’t want to set my hopes too high, but I hoped to find a powerful Pokémon behind it all. Maybe even a Legendary Pokémon.

Running, even on Zebstrika-back, to the desert took several hours, amounting to the remainder of the day we’d started up on the volcano. When darkness fell, it found my spacious tent-truly as one-button as advertised-already set up, sleeping bag unrolled within, and a small fire burning on a pile of sticks on the sand. It didn’t last long due to shoddy construction, as I hadn’t a clue how to set up a fire, but it lasted long enough for a quick but pleasant meal, dying out as my team and I tucked ourselves in for the night. With only the slowly-waxing moon, radiant stars, and the light from my phone to see by, I wrote another email to my dad as I’d been doing every day. Despite all that this place had to offer, I missed home.

When I awoke to the jarring sounds of my angry team, it was still well before morning-a sleepy check of my phone put the time at 3am. Something small and squishy bounced off of me. I turned on the flashlight function of my phone, and between that, Zeke’s glowing mane, and Gem’s fire, I could see the cause of all the commotion-a confused, slightly frightened Munna. It drifted towards me, earning it angry reactions from my three Pokémon, but I held up a hand to call them off. Pink dream mist swirled around the little creature, which it gathered close to itself in a psychic grip. I grinned a little as a thought hit me.  
 _“Were you trying to eat my dreams?”_  
 _“Muuun!”_  
The Pokémon adopted a look that was downright shamefaced, backing up about a foot-and that’s when I lost it.

I sat down hard on the sand and started laughing. Gem, Zeke, and Topaz all looked at me, distinctly puzzled by their overly-amused Trainer, which didn’t help my giggling fit in the least. After only a few moments, Gem at least seemed to see the funny side and visibly relaxed, barking at the other two. Zeke soon enough settled back on the sand with an annoyed grunt while Topaz paced back and forth, eyeing the Pokémon I’d decided qualified as a guest. I soon settled back down into my tent and fell quickly into a deep, “dreamless” sleep. When I awoke, the Munna had snuck into the tent, followed by a nervous Topaz, and once again surrounded itself with Dream Mist, humming faintly as it did. I sat up, smiling, and looked at it. It made a squeaky noise and darted back, but I smiled and cooed at it as I got up, which seemed to relax the skittish Pokémon a bit.

It bobbed around me as I dismantled camp and saddled up Zeke for the day’s ride, not quite willing to leave despite the visible and hilarious jealousy from my team. Even the standoffish Topaz clung to my leg as I tried to navigate making breakfast-and chittered when I set out a small bowl of kibble for Munna as well. At last, just as I was ready to head out, the Munna seemingly made up its mind and attempted to dive into my bag. Unfortunately, I needed that bag for my travels, but the Pokémon wouldn’t get out. I pulled it out of the bag, and after a moment, also pulled free a Pokéball. Munna didn’t hesitate, pushing against it and sealing…herself, as I checked, in. I keyed in a nickname-Misha.

I sprang up onto Zeke’s back, and we headed out in a spray of sand. The rest of the day was a blur of racing through the surprisingly lively desert, battling the stunning number of tenants, passing what might have been ruins as we skirted the edge of the Temple sector.


	4. Meeting

The next day, no longer on the back of Zeke but accompanied by my entire team, Misha clinging to my head, I trekked into the forest surrounding the temple. The trees soon blotted out much of the light, but it was hard to be afraid with my Pokémon by my side. Orienting myself against the “skyline” of a single massive building, I powered off towards the huge temple that gave the area its name. That day passed, and as the light began to dim on the next one, the monotony-if the enjoyable travel and fun battle could really be called that-was abruptly and violently broken by a sharp cry and speeding arrow. A rapid turn and ball of fire from Gem revealed our assailant: a powerful-looking Decidueye.

It wasted no time in springing furiously as us, shrieking a war cry. Misha yelped and darted aside, and I dove out of the way just before its claws hit the ground right where I had been. Gem and Topaz both charged, but Zeke exploded out of his ball-where he’d been resting-and reached the Grass-type first with a Flame Charge met by an explosive Ominous Wind. Leaf Blades glowing on its wings, Decidueye evaded Zeke’s next rushing attack, only to be met by-to my surprise-Misha’s Hypnosis. The Psychic attack didn’t take full effect, but it slowed the rampaging archer enough that Topaz hit it like a wrecking ball with an almighty Dig from below.

Gem was the last to reach it, body blazing with the light of a Fire Spin. He hit it in a blur even as it went back on the attack, claws and talons clashing within a ring of flame. At last, after a long moment, the Decidueye was able to throw him back, but he charged again-and his body began to glow. When he reached the startled wild Pokémon he was a Delphox, entire form burning with almost-hellish red light. He unleashed a truly, ridiculously powerful Fire attack-Mystical Fire, Delphox’s signature move. Decidueye was knocked silly, just in time for attacks from all three other members to strike home. It collapsed to the floor and did not rise-for a second I feared it had died before an unhappy coo issued from its beak.

It was, understandably, humiliated by its defeat-and the first warning I had that it was interested by our team was the loud click of a Pokéball from my bag. It took me several minutes to quit laughing at the realization that the bird had so successfully gotten around us-and a few more to shake the last of my doubts. I’d done well with four-there was no reason to worry about the addition of a strong, independent creature like this one. At worst, he could fare for himself. I let him out as I looked at the nicknaming screen, then the Pokémon.

_“Deuce?”_ I asked.  
The cry that answered me was harsh, angry, and very loud.  
 _“Ouch…how about Decibel?”_  
That suggestion earned me a nod, and I keyed it in. Decibel slept in a tree that night, though when I awoke come morning, he was already awake and staring down at me. That day brought us to the entrance of the temple itself, where a surprise awaited. Another Trainer accompanied by a bouncy Spoink. He met my eyes with some confusion-he was quite a rough sight, and I imaged I was too with my burnt hair, messy clothes, and the Munna clinging to me. I waved.

_“Hello,”_ I said a bit awkwardly, hoping to open up a quick conversation.  
He nodded. _“Hey. Who are you?”_  
I thought for a moment-nobody here would know me by any name but Gem, but that was the name of my starter, and he-or at least one of his twin namesakes-had the name well before I ever used it. I decided to introduce myself as Gem, yes, but use a different name from here on out.

_“I’m Gem on Amino but please call me Charlie.”_  
His face lightened with abrupt recognition.  
 _“Gem, like the one who wrote a ridiculous number of poems?”_  
I snorted at the description-even here, it seemed, that’s what I was known for.  
 _“The very same,”_ I responded, smiling before asking, _“Who are you?”_  
 _“Suup,”_ he answered, and it took me only a moment to place him-we’d spoken a few times.  
 _“What brings you here?”_ He asked.

I shook my head. _“Exploring, taking pictures, heading in the general direction of the forest…nothing much. You?”_  
He winced. _“I dropped in the temple and it’s taken me this long to get out.”_  
I grimaced in sympathy before asking, “ _Where are you headed?”_  
He paused for a moment. _“I’m thinking of heading towards center, seeing if I can help some other Trainer get moving on the tournament-I’ve not got much interest-and then I hope to check out some other temple, because this is actually really cool. Speaking of, is there anything you need? I’m loaded down with items.”_  
I thought for a few seconds.  
 _“Just a Moon Stone, really, if there’s one about. I’d like to be able to evolve Misha, my Munna. And by the way, if you’re looking for other temples, I saw a place like this when I was hiking the volcano. You might want to look there.”_  
He grinned. _“Say what. Just for that, I’ll give you the spare Moon Stone I found.”_

I was startled by the offer and didn’t accept it right away-I gave him a few of my surplus of basic-needs items in exchange for the valuable stone and a note that there really weren’t any signs of Legendary Pokémon in the temple-just a Volcarona that someone else had already snagged. With that, he headed off and I wasted no time in offering the stone to Misha, who accepted it without hesitating. A moment’s glow later, she was a Musharna. With the new team member and new evolution, I too moved on-to the forest, in hopes of finding a powerful Pokémon lurking within.

For much of a week, that hope netted us a whole lot of absolutely nothing. Training, exploring, storm-chasing…nothing. Not even a scratch. I was almost ready not to give up, but to move on, when I heard something, something that shouldn’t have been in a forest on a clear day-a loud thunderclap. Immediately, I raced towards the source of the noise, my Pokémon closely following. Another day and night passed with little rest, chasing the source of the sounds-and the destruction we found in its wake. At last, after many hours, the “storm” quieted, and the group of us came upon a clearing. I stepped forward, raised my camera, and took a picture.


	5. Hope

The Pokémon standing within the clearing didn’t look as angry as I’d expected, rather it seemed confused by the presence of the camera and my quickly appearing smile. Yellow ears twitched, and a long tail lashed-I knew this Pokémon. It had made my family and friends alike squeal over its adorable factor in the movie theater, and now it was, in a sense, the first step in seeing them again. Zeraora, the Thunderclap Pokémon if my memories served, stood before me. Grinning stupidly now, I took a second picture, and a third as my team slowly moved into the clearing. Zeraora growled, and I motioned to calm my team-the absolute last thing we needed was confrontation. I slowly lowered my camera, and after it was safely away, I spoke.

_“Finally. Finally we found you, now we have proof, now we can start trying-really trying-to go home. Thank you, Zeraora. Thank you.”_  
The Pokémon replied only with a meowing sound, but it seemed as if it understood my words. It made no hostile move as it rose slowly, and I was careful to stay relaxed. It loped off, but paused, beckoning with a paw. I needed no further invitation-I followed the Pokémon as quickly as tired legs would allow, my team hurrying after me. Zeraora led me for only a few minutes, pausing here and there to ensure I followed, before we arrived at a small clearing. Zeraora roared, and in a blur of movement appeared a Pokémon-a massive Staraptor.

It crowed, and I tensed again before relaxing as the Pokémon calmly approached me. I took the opportunity to photograph it-a magnificent Pokémon, truly-before it bowed to me, pose made a little awkward by body shape. Zeraora met my eyes, nodded, and darted away. I believed I understood-perhaps, a reward for not attempting any harm on the Mythical Pokémon, perhaps a gesture of kindness-I didn’t really know the reason, but I pulled a Pokéball from my bag nonetheless. The Pokémon wasted no time in bumping its head against the button sealing…herself in. I looked at the naming screen for only a moment before deciding that Tempest was, as a name, most appropriate-and noticing that among her moves was Fly.

I couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up from my chest-I had done it. As far as I knew, done it before anyone else. I had photographic evidence of a Mythical Pokémon, and a new team member with Fly to boot. Somehow, home seemed a lot closer than it had even just that morning. For the first time in a while, I felt truly confident, competent, and most importantly-hopeful. I would get home. I was good enough. I could do it-and I would.


End file.
